Ayaz Gul VOA News February 26, 2025 ISLAMABAD — Uzbekistan and Pakistan agreed to establish a tripartite committee with Afghanistan to address issues that are hindering the implementation of a proposed railway project connecting the three countries. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reported the development after delegation-level talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Tashkent, emphasizing
Afghanistan International: John Sopko, the former U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), stated that the United States has spent over $21 billion on Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power. Despite the suspension of U.S. foreign aid, Sopko revealed that the U.S. continues to send money to Afghanistan on a weekly basis. According
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 17, 2025 ISLAMABAD — The World Bank reported Monday that the economic recovery in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan remains precarious, beset by persistent challenges, including policy uncertainty, financial isolation, reduced foreign aid and fragile trade relations with neighboring Pakistan. The bank assessed in its latest report that persistent high poverty levels, unemployment, limited
Amu: Dozens of residents in Takhar province staged protests against what they call the plundering of gold reserves in the Chah Ab district. The protests that started Sunday and continued into Monday called for addressing the issue by relevant institutions. Sources told Amu TV that companies operating in the region appear to be engaged in
Ariana: John Sopko, former US special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said on Wednesday that a sizeable amount of US taxpayers’ money went into the pockets of the Islamic Emirate. “We know it is going to continue because unfortunately we have nobody on the ground and the money is going through the UN, world food
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 1, 2025 ISLAMABAD — Taliban officials denounced Saturday claims that the United States could regain custody of Afghanistan’s frozen central bank funds, warning that any such action would be “unacceptable.” The Taliban-led Ministry of Economy issued the warning in response to the latest quarterly report released to the U.S. Congress on
Afghanistan International: The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has asserted that the Taliban has no legal right to access billions of dollars allocated for Afghanistan, as the group is not recognised as the legitimate government and remains subject to sanctions. The report also alleges that the Taliban collects taxes on a significant portion
Amu: More than two years after the Taliban’s 2022 ban on narcotics, poppy cultivation levels in Afghanistan remain historically low, but opium continues to be grown, cultivated, and sold in some areas, according to a new report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). SIGAR also noted that while Afghanistan has seen
Tolo News: US Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) has introduced a bill to prevent the Islamic Emirate from accessing American funds through the United Nations. According to this bill, US aid sent via the UN will be subject to the US State Department’s guarantee that Washington’s cash assistance will not be included in UN humanitarian
Amu: Public employees in Taliban-controlled institutions say they have not received their overdue salaries for nearly two months, compounding financial hardships amid economic uncertainty. With the suspension of U.S. aid, Afghanistan’s currency has fluctuated sharply, with the exchange rate exceeding 80 Afghanis per U.S. dollar in recent days. Meanwhile, public employees are raising concerns over